Acetum Scillae (U. S. P.)—Vinegar of Squill.

Botanical name: 

Related entry: Scilla (U. S. P.)—Squill

Preparation.—"Squill, in No. 30 powder, 100 grammes (100 Gm.) [3 oz. av., 231 grs.]; diluted acetic acid, a sufficient quantity to make 1000 cubic centimeters (1000 Cc.) [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Macerate the squill with nine hundred (900) cubic centimeters [30 fl℥, 208♏] of diluted acetic acid during 7 days, frequently stirring; then strain through muslin, and wash the mass on the strainer with enough diluted acetic acid, until the strained liquid measures one thousand (1000) cubic centimeters [33 fl℥, 391♏]. Finally filter "—(U. S. P.).

Action, Medical Uses, and-Dosage.—Vinegar of squill contains all the medicinal virtues of the squill. It is a clear, yellowish fluid, of a bitter acid taste, and possessing an acetous smell. It is sometimes employed as an expectorant in affections of the air vessels, and as a diuretic in dropsies caused by cardiac disease, but, on account of its tendency to decomposition, its principal use is in the preparation of syrup of squill. This preparation represents 10 per cent of squill. Its dose is from 15 to 60 minims, in some aromatic water.


King's American Dispensatory, 1898, was written by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D.